Top 13 Women Human Resources Speakers for Corporate Events
Our guide to women human resources speakers represented by the Mollie Plotkin Group, a certified women-owned enterprise.
AI Summary
A curated guide to standout voices in people strategy, culture and the future of work, helping planners compare strong options for corporate events and conferences.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Employee engagement is linked to stronger productivity, retention, and workplace performance
Gallup’s Q12 Meta-Analysis found that employee engagement is connected to 11 business outcomes, including productivity, turnover, absenteeism, profitability, and wellbeing. Highly engaged teams consistently outperform less engaged teams across these measures.
That makes employee engagement an important priority for HR leaders. Human resources speakers can give teams practical frameworks for improving communication, strengthening workplace culture, navigating change, developing leaders, and creating conditions that help employees perform and stay engaged.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is a certified women owned enterprise, represents and books speakers whose careers connect directly with the challenges facing HR leaders and people teams.
This list organizes 13 women human resources speakers around four common event use cases.
Table of Contents
- For Organizational Change and Culture
- For Employee Engagement and Inclusive Workplaces
- For Workforce Leadership and Retention
- For Workplace Performance and Collaboration
- FAQs About Women Human Resources Speakers
- How much does a human resources keynote speaker cost?
- How far in advance should I book a human resources keynote speaker?
- How do I book a human resources speaker through the Mollie Plotkin Group?
- What topics can women human resources speakers cover?
- Which human resources speaker is best for an employee engagement event?
- Can human resources speakers customize their keynote for our workforce?
For Organizational Change and Culture
These speakers help HR leaders address organizational change, leadership behavior, workplace culture, and employee response to disruption.
Best for: HR leadership conferences, corporate transformations, and organizational development programs.
Cassandra Worthy
- Created the Change Enthusiasm® strategy for navigating the emotions surrounding organizational transformation
- Built her leadership framework from more than a decade of corporate merger and acquisition experience
- Serves Fortune 500 organizations including Google, Salesforce, Bank of America, CVS Health, and Delta Air Lines
Cassandra Worthy gives HR leaders a practical framework for workforce resilience during major change. Her programs directly address employee engagement, productivity, and culture during transformation.
Erin Hatzikostas
- Led a corporate turnaround that increased earnings from $17 million to $50 million in three years
- Raised employee engagement by 15% while serving as CEO
- Delivered a TEDx Talk that ranked among the 20 most viewed TEDx talks worldwide in 2021
Erin Hatzikostas connects workplace authenticity with measurable culture and engagement results. Her experience as a CEO gives HR audiences a business-centered perspective on trust and employee performance.
Tasha Eurich
- Earned a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology before building a 20-year career advising corporate leaders
- Authored the New York Times bestseller Bankable Leadership
- Received Global Gurus rankings as a leading communication expert and organizational culture expert
Tasha Eurich brings organizational psychology into HR conversations about leadership and culture. Her research on self-awareness gives people leaders a framework for improving adaptability and workplace effectiveness.
For Employee Engagement and Inclusive Workplaces
These speakers focus on employee engagement, inclusion, organizational resilience, and the conditions that help people contribute at a higher level.
Best for: employee experience conferences, DEI programs, and company culture events.
Sam Rapoport
- Built a 23-year career in professional football while advancing opportunities for women across the NFL
- Received the NFL Commissioner’s Award twice during her career
- Earned the Sports Business Journal Game Changer Award in 2023
Sam Rapoport provides HR audiences with a real-world example of changing an established organizational culture. Her NFL career centers on opening career pathways and creating measurable institutional change.
Michelle Gielan
- Anchored The CBS Morning News before pursuing graduate study in positive psychology
- Earned recognition from Harvard Business Review as one of the top 10 authors on resilience
- Authored the bestselling book Broadcasting Happiness
Michelle Gielan uses positive psychology research to address employee wellbeing and engagement. Her studies connect workplace mindset with performance, communication, stress, and measurable business outcomes.
Polly LaBarre
- Joined the original team at Fast Company magazine after graduating from Yale University
- Co-founded Management Lab to help organizations accelerate change
- Co-authored Mavericks at Work, which The Economist named a Book of the Year
Polly LaBarre examines how organizations can redesign work around human potential. Her research is especially relevant for HR teams focused on resilience, innovation, and employee contribution.
For Workforce Leadership and Retention
These speakers address talent, belonging, leadership development, workforce planning, and the organizational conditions that support employee retention.
Best for: talent management conferences, executive retreats, and leadership development programs.
Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan
- Led business and people functions at Microsoft during a 30-year corporate career
- Completed more than 12,000 hours coaching category leaders and teams
- Partnered with Brené Brown on Dare to Lead™ program development and facilitation
Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan brings direct people leadership experience to discussions about engagement and belonging. Her Outsider’s Edge™ framework connects employee appreciation with organizational performance.
Wema Hoover
- Held leadership roles at Pfizer, Sanofi, and Google
- Advised Fortune 100 organizations on enterprise change and organizational development
- Founded a global advisory practice focused on executive coaching, workforce planning, and leadership development
Wema Hoover works directly at the intersection of leadership and workforce strategy. Her experience gives HR executives practical context for talent development, organizational change, and high-performing cultures.
For Workplace Performance and Collaboration
These speakers focus on employee performance, burnout, accountability, collaboration, communication, and the everyday experience of work.
Best for: people operations events, manager training programs, and employee development conferences.
Alisha De Lorenzo
- Applied Positive Deviance methods to improve culture and performance within a struggling school district
- Built more than 20 years of combined experience as an educator, therapist, coach, and speaker
- Earned recognition as an award-winning educator whose work has appeared on PBS and NBC
Alisha De Lorenzo directly addresses employee engagement, retention, workplace innovation, and organizational culture. Her Positive Deviance approach focuses on identifying successful behaviors already present within an organization.
Caroline Dowd-Higgins
- Built more than 20 years of executive leadership experience inside large organizations
- Authored This Is Not The Career I Ordered™ and Your Career Advantage
- Hosts the award-winning podcast Your Working Life
Caroline Dowd-Higgins focuses on burnout, talent development, and sustainable workplace performance. Her executive experience gives HR audiences a practical perspective on helping people thrive without ignoring business demands.
Henna Pryor
- Built a 14-year staffing career that matched thousands of finance and accounting professionals with new opportunities
- Won Rookie of the Year and Performer of the Year during her staffing career
- Received recognition as a 2024 SUCCESS Magazine Woman of Influence
Henna Pryor brings direct staffing experience into conversations about workplace performance. Her career gives HR leaders firsthand context for why high-performing employees stay, leave, and respond to workplace culture.
Cy Wakeman
- Reached New York Times bestseller status as an author on leadership and workplace performance
- Earned induction into the Speaker Hall of Fame
- Published four bestselling books on leadership, accountability, and personal effectiveness
Cy Wakeman addresses workplace drama, accountability, and employee engagement through her Reality Based Leadership approach. Her work is relevant for HR teams trying to improve performance without adding unnecessary organizational friction.
Erica Dhawan
- Earned degrees from Harvard, MIT Sloan, and The Wharton School
- Authored the bestselling books Get Big Things Done and Digital Body Language
- Received recognition from Thinkers50 as “The Oprah of Management Ideas”
Erica Dhawan specializes in collaboration across increasingly digital workplaces. Her research gives HR leaders practical context for communication, teamwork, and connection across functions and locations.
FAQs About Women Human Resources Speakers
How much does a human resources keynote speaker cost?
Human resources speaker fees vary by speaker, event format, date, and program requirements.
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group for current pricing and availability for the speakers you are considering.
How far in advance should I book a human resources keynote speaker?
Booking lead times depend on the individual speaker and event date.
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group early in your planning process to check availability for your preferred speaker.
How do I book a human resources speaker through the Mollie Plotkin Group?
Share your event date, audience, format, and preferred speaker with the Mollie Plotkin Group.
The team can provide current availability and booking information for your event.
What topics can women human resources speakers cover?
The speakers in this list address organizational culture, employee engagement, workforce change, leadership development, retention, inclusion, burnout, collaboration, and workplace performance.
The right topic depends on the workforce challenge behind your event.
Which human resources speaker is best for an employee engagement event?
The best speaker depends on whether your engagement challenge centers on culture, leadership, wellbeing, inclusion, retention, or communication.
Choose a speaker whose professional experience closely matches the workforce issue your organization wants to address.
Can human resources speakers customize their keynote for our workforce?
Customization varies by speaker.
Several speakers in this list explicitly offer tailored programs based on an organization’s audience, workplace challenges, and event objectives.
Ready to find the right women human resources speaker for your event? Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at Mollie@mollieplotkingroup.com or call 215-995-0905 to discuss speaker availability and event fit.
